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g5a5a5E5a5H5E5g5E5E5E5E5E5E5g5E5a5a5E5E5E5E5a5H5E5E5ggl 


THE 


Luther-Jubilee  Book, 

FOR    THE 

400th  ANNIVERSARY 

OF   THE  \ 

BIRTH   OF   DR.  MARTIN   LUTHER, 

The  Great  German  Reformer. 


FOR  THE  CHILDREN   OF  THE  CHURCH. 


With  Twenty 


Illustrations. 


READING,   PA.: 

PILGER    BOOKSTORE. 


1.  Market-place  in  Wittenberg  with  t lie  Luther 
Monument.  2.  Luther's  House  in  Eisenach.  3.  The 
Room  in  Eisleben  where  Luther  was  horn.  4.  Lu- 
ther's House  in  Wittenberg.  5.  Augustinian  Con- 
vent in  Wittenbersr. 


tttfpr  $  fnvmh. 


OUR  hundred  years  ago  there  lived  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Moehra,  in  Germany,  a  miner  named 


HANS  LUTHER,  LUTHER'S  FATHER. 

Hans  Luther,  and  his  wife,  Margaretha  Lindemann. 
His  ancestors  had  also  lived  in  this  village  and  were 
farmers.      But   Hans    Luther    became  a  miner  and 


worked  in  the  copper  mines  at  Moehra.  He  soon 
moved  to  the  town  of  Eisleben.  And  here,  shortly 
before  midnight,  on  the  10th  of  November,  1483,  was 
born  their  son,  whose  name  you  all  know,  Martin 
Luther.  A  half  year  later,  Hans  Luther  removed 
with  his  wife  and  child  to  Mansfeld,  where  he  had  at 


MAEGAEETHA  LUTHER,  EUTHER's  MOTHER. 


first  a  hard  struggle  with  poverty.  His  wife  had  to 
go  out  into  the  forests  to  gather  fire-wood  and  carry 
it  home  on  her  back.  But  God  blessed  the  husband's 
labors  and  he  became  a  man  of  property.  The  Counts 
of  Mansfeld,  who  esteemed  him  very  highly  for  his 


industry,  gave  him  two  smelting  furnaces.  He  was  a 
pious  man  also.  The  citizens  of  Mansfeld  honored 
him  by  electing  him  a  member  of  the  town-council. 
Luther's  mother,  Margaretha,  was  esteemed  as  the 
model  of  a  true  housewife.  She  was  distinguished 
among  women  for  her  piety  and  devotion. 

Both  of  Luther's  parents  lived  to  a  very  great  age. 
They  had  seven  children,  four  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. At  their  death,  there  were  living  two  sons  and 
all  three  daughters.  The  latter  were  married  to 
citizens  of  Mansfeld.  Luther  was  not  ashamed  that 
he  had  descended  from  farmers.  He  once  said,  "I 
am  a  farmer's  son ;  my  father,  and  my  grandfather, 
and  all  my  ancestors  were  farmers." 


UTHER  was  born  on  the  10th  of  November, 
1483.  His  parents  wishing,  as  early  as  pos- 
sible, to  afford  him  the  grace  of  God  in  Holy  Baptism, 
Hans  Luther,  on  the  very  next  day,  carried  his  son  to 
St.  Peter's  Church  in  Eisleben.     It  was  St.  Martin's 


day  (Nov.  11th),  and  so  the  child  received  the  name 
of  Martinus  at  his  baptism. 

St.  Martin  was  born  in  Hungary,  of  heathen  parents,  about  the  year  316. 
At  the  early  age  of  sixteen  he  became  a  soldier.  He  afterwards  removed  to 
France  and  there  received  Christian  baptism.  Little  is  known  about  him. 
He  is  said,  however,  to  have  been  a  brave  Christian  soldier.     One  winter, 


LUTHER  S   BIRTH. 

runs  the  legend,  he  saw  before  the  gate  of  the  city  of  Amiens  a  poor  man, 
nearly  naked  and  shivering  in  the  cold.  Martin  tore  off  his  soldier's  mantle, 
drew  his  sword  and  cut  it  in  two,  and  keeping  one  half  himself,  gave  the  other 
to  the  poor  man  to  cover  his  nakedness.  The  same  night,  Christ  appeared 
to  him  clad  in  the  half  of  Martin's  coat.  St.  Martin  suffered  much  persecution 
on  account  of  his  faith.     He  died  about  400  A.D.,  as  Bishop  of  Tours 

6 


Martin  Luther  had  a  glorious  example  in  this  Chris- 
tian hero.  And  God  made  Luther  also  a  right  true 
knight,  brave  to  do  battle  for  the  Lord. 

The  picture,  given  above,  shows  us  the  room  in 
Eisleben  in  which  little  Luther  first  saw  the  light  of 
day.  The  babe  is  born  and  his  father  dedicates  him 
in  prayer  to  God.  And  full  many  a  time  after  this 
did  that  father  kneel  by  his  child's  bedside  and  fer- 
vently pray  aloud  that  his  son  might  remember  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  On  the  right  side  we  see  hanging 
on  the  wall  the  picture  of  St.  Martin,  after  whom  the 
child  was  named. 


Bjp  j>rt]|  Jratfpr  a!  j!t|tuil 


HE  father  early  took  his  son  to  the  school  at 
Mansfeld.  In  bad  weather,  he  used  to  take 
little  Martin  up  in  his  arms  and  carry  him  to  school. 
The  bundle  of  rods  in  the  teacher's  hand  is  not  without 
meaning,  as  the  sobbing  boy  behind  the  master's  chair 
has  found  out.  Those  were  the  days  of  severe  disci- 
j)line.  The  rod  was  spared  neither  at  home  nor  in 
school.     Luther  himself  says,  that  in  one  morning  he 


received  fifteen  whippings.  His  father  was  of  the 
opinion  that  children  should  not  be  reared  too  ten- 
derly. He  rather  kept  in  mind  the  proverb  of  Solo- 
mon, "  He  that  spareth  his  rod  hateth  his  son :  but 


LL'THER   TAKEN   TO   SCHOOL. 


he  that  loveth  him  chasteneth  him  betimes"  (Prov. 
13:24).  Martin's  father  loved  him  clearly,  but  not, 
like  many  parents  nowadays,  blindly.  Therefore 
he  did  not  wink  at  the  boy's  faults.     Luther  says, 


"  My  father  once  gave  me  such  a  severe  whipping, 
that  I  avoided  him  until  he  made  up  with  me  again. 
My  mother  too  whipped  me  about  a  mere  nut,  until 
the  blood  flowed."  Luther  was  a  very  apt  scholar 
and  diligently  learned  the  Ten  Commandments,  the 
Child's  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  Christian  Hymns. 
His  father  saw  how  diligent  his  son  was,  and  what  fine 
talents  he  had,  and  determined  to  give  him  a  good 
education. 


tv  h$  it  i^mkr. 


,j? 


T  the  age  of  fourteen,  Luther's  father  sent  him 
to  the  great  city  of  Magdeburg,  where  was  a 
celebrated  Latin  school.  He  could,  of  course,  learn 
more  here  than  at  Mansfeld,  but  otherwise,  he  had  a 
hard  time  of  it  in  Magdeburg.  His  father  was  not 
able  to  pay  his  heavy  expenses  longer  than  one  year. 
He  had,  therefore,  to  do  as  all  the  poor  scholars  did 
in  those  days.  They  went  out  in  companies  of  ten  to 
twelve,  and  sang  hymns  before  the  doors  of  the  citi- 
zens, for  which  they  received  alms.  Luther  joined  in 
these  "  Bread-songs."  But  they  often  met  with  hard 
hearted  people  who  had  no  pity  for  the  poor  scholars. 


When  fifteen  years  of  age,  Luther  went  to  Eisenach, 
where  he  had  some  relatives,  but  they  were  poor  also. 


LUTHER   AS   CHORISTER. 


Here,  too,  the  poor  young  fellow  had   a  very  hard 
|    time.      He  had  to  sing  for  his  bread  from   door  to 


iflk 


-^ 
door,  as  at  Magdeburg.     It  often  happened  that,  in 
stead  of  either  bread  or  money,  he  got  nothing  but 
sour  looks  and  harsh  words.     Such  were  the  hard- 
ships of  Luther's  youth ;  for  whom  God  would  exalt, 
he  first  teaches  to  humble  himself. 

And  so  one  day  Luther  sang  before  the  house  of  a 
rich  citizen,  named  Ootta,  His  wife,  Ursula  Cotta,  was 
deeply  moved  by  the  youth's  devout  singing.  She 
called  him  in,  questioned  him  about  himself,  and  was 
so  pleased  with  him  that  she  took  him  to  live  with  her. 
She  cared  for  him  as  though  he  were  her  own  son. 

He  was  now  able  to  study  free  from  care,  and  ap- 
plied himself  with  all  his  might.  He  paid  particular 
attention  to  music,  and  learned  to  play  both  the  lute 
and  the  flute.  Luther  was  ever  grateful  to  good 
L^rsula  Cotta,  and  called  Eisenach  his  own  dear  city. 


Jhtil^r  at  \\n  ^mmpty. 


V&^IDDING  farewell  to  Eisenach  in  1501,  Luther 

j£%  at  the  age  of  eighteen  went  to  Erfurt  to  attend 

the  University.     His  father  wished  him  to  become  a 

lawyer.      He  was  a  diligent  student  and  began  his 


daily  studies  with  prayer  to  God.  His  motto  was, 
"  To  have  prayed  well,  is  to  have  studied  well."  But 
he  had  no  desire  to  be  a  lawyer ;  he  wanted  to  lead  a 
religious  life.  But  his  father  was  not  willing  that  he 
should  enter  a  monastery.  He  abhorred  the  life  led 
by  the  monks,  which  was  often  idle  and  sensual. 

Luther  spent  much  of  his  leisure  time  in  the  Uni- 
versity library.  One  day  (after  he  had  been  at  the 
University  two  years  and  was  now  twenty  years  old) 
a  book  fell  into  his  hands  which  he  had  never  seen 
before — a  Latin  Bible.  To  his  great  amazement,  he 
found  that  it  contained  much  more  than  the  gospel 
lessons  read  in  church  on  Sundays.  He  opened  the 
book  at  the  story  of  Hannah  and  the  infant  Samuel. 
He  read  it  through  and  could  hardly  contain  himself 
for  joy.  The  child,  dedicated  to  the  Lord  for  life  by 
his  parents,  Hannah's  song  of  praise,  the  piety  of  the 
child  Samuel — all  this  the  young  student  eagerly 
read,  and  returned  home  praying  that  God  would  in 
due  time  grant  him  such  a  book. 

He  revisited  the  library  and  read  with  increasing 
joy  in  the  Holy  Bible.  He  would  be  a  Samuel  too, 
and  say  with  him,  "Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant 
heareth."  And  he  verily  became  a  true  servant  of 
the  Lord,  and  proclaimed  abroad  what  the  Lord  spake 
to  him  in  His  Word. 


Jbflpfr  in  !|f  jlmmsb^. 


UTHER  pursued  his  studies  with  such  un- 
reasonable ardor  as  to  bring  on  a  dangerous 
illness.  He  thought  he  was  about  to  die.  In  his 
deep  distress  God  sent  him  an  aged  priest  to  comfort 
him.  He  said  to  Luther,  "Be  of  good  cheer;  you 
will  not  die  upon  this  couch.  God  will  yet  make  of 
you  a  great  man,  to  comfort  many  people." 

Luther  recovered.  But  he  was  no  longer  willing  to 
become  a  lawyer.  He  had  been  on  the  borders  of  the 
grave  ;  and  from  that  hour  most  serious  thoughts  took 
possession  of  him. 

Just  about  this  time  his  friend  Alexius  was  one 
morning  found  murdered  in  his  bed,  and  a  little  later 
Luther  himself,  whilst  walking  in  the  country,  nar- 
rowly escaped  death  by  a  stroke  of  lightning.  These 
things  filled  him  with  such  a  dread  of  the  divine 
wrath  that  he  forthwith  resolved  to  enter  a  convent. 
He  thought  that  in  this  way  he  would  merit  eternal 
life. 

On  the  evening  of  July  17th,  1505,  Luther  knocked 
at  the  gate  of  the  Augustinian  Convent,  in  Erfurt,  crav- 


ing  admittance.  The  gate  opened,  and  closed  behind 
him.  He  became  an  Augustinian  monk  without  the 
knowledge  or  consent  of  his  father. 


LUTHER  ENTERS  THE   MONASTERY. 


Convents  were  very  numerous  in  Luther's  day.  The  life  of  a  monk  was 
extolled  as  an  angelic  life.  New  orders,  therefore,  arose  continually,  e.  g., 
the  Franciscans,  the  Dominicans,  the  Augustinians,  the  Capuchins,  etc.    The 

14 


Augustinian  order  was  named  after  the  learned  Bishop  Augustine,  whose 
mother  was  the  godly  Monica.  Luther  was  a  diligent  student  of  Augustine's 
writings,  and  confessed  that,  next  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  he  was  indebted  to 
these  writings  for  a  knowledge  of  the  pure  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Augustine 
lived  from  354  to  430  A.  D. 

In  the  convent  Luther  had  to  perform  the  most 
menial  services.  As  "  Brother  Martin,"  he  had  to  go 
through  the  town,  bearing  a  bag  upon  his  back,  and 
call  at  the  different  houses  to  gather  butter,  eggs,  and 
bread  for  the  convent.  He  had  to  toll  the  bell,  sweep 
the  chapel,  and  keep  the  various  rooms  in  order ;  all 
of  which  he  performed  with  great  humility.  He  still 
read  his  Bible  diligently.  But  do  what  he  may,  it 
brought  him  no  peace  of  mind  or  heart.  His  restless- 
ness of  soul  and  pangs  of  conscience  waxed  so  great 
that  at  length  he  was  thrown  into  a  dangerous  illness. 
Then  an  aged  brother  consoled  him  with  the  words 
of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  "  I  believe  in  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,"  which  made  a  deep  impression  on  him. 

In  the  year  1508,  Luther  was  called  to  Wittenberg 
as  Professor.  He  also  became  preacher  in  the  Castle 
Church.  His  sermons  were  so  j>owerful,  that  the 
church  was  crowded  with  hearers. 

In  the  year  1510,  it  became  necessary  for  Luther  to 
make  a  journey  to  Eome.  This  pleased  him  very 
much,  for  he  was  anxious  to  see  the  Pope,  the  so  called 
"  Holy  Father."  Luther  thought  that  all  who  lived 
in  Borne  were  good  Christians.     When  in  sight  of  the 


city,  lie  knelt  down  and  cried  out,  "  Hail  to  thee,  thou 
holy    Rome ! "     But  he  was   soon   undeceived.     He 


PAPAL   POMP. 


found  a  scandalous  state  of  affairs  among  those  who 
ought  to  have  been  the  shepherds  of  the  flock. 


He  afterwards  said  :  "  I  would  not  take  a  thousand 
gulden  not  to  have  seen  Home." 

In  Home  they  show  what  is  called  Pilate's  Staircase. 
It  stands  before  All  toaints'  Chapel  and  consists  of 
twenty-eight  marble  steps.  This  staircase,  according 
to  the  Eoman  Catholics,  formerly  stood  in  front  of 
the  judgment  hall  of  Pilate,  in  Jerusalem,  and  Jesus 
ascended  it  on  Good  Friday.  It  was  only  to  be  as- 
cended on  one's  knees.  Whoever  mounted  it  thus 
received  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins.  To  this  day,  this 
promise  may  be  found  written  on  both  sides  of  this 
staircase.  Such  an  opportunity,  Luther  could  not 
leave  pass.  But  whilst  he  was  creeping  up  on  his 
hands  and  knees  and  praying,  it  seemed  to  him  as 
though  he  heard  a  voice,  saying :  "  The  just  shall  live 
by  faith." — Kom.  1 :  17. 

On  his  homeward  journey,  the  Lord  drove  the 
arrow  still  deeper  into  his  soul.  At  Bologna,  Luther 
was  sick  unto  death.  Then,  again,  did  this  precious 
saying  shine  forth,  as  a  bright  light,  in  his  soul. 
Luther  returned  to  Wittenberg  a  new  man.  "  The 
just  shall  live  by  faith,"  became  from  that  hour 
the  motto  of  his  life.  In  the  year  1512,  he  was 
made  Doctor  of  Theology.  Young  men  nocked  to  Wit- 
tenberg, from  all  parts  of  Germany,  to  hear  him. 
He  resided  in  the  convent  of  his  order  in  Wittenberg. 


Jttmm  in  Up  ^umntt  ©allpfit  Slprt 


HE  days  before  Luther,  are  called  the  Dark 
Ages.  Darkness  was  over  all  Europe,  because 
the  true  light  shoue  not.  The  times  were  poor  in  the 
Word  of  God  but  rich  in  errors  and  doctrines,  the 
most  monstrous.  The  Pope,  at  Rome,  wished  to  be 
regarded  as  the  "  vicar,"  or  representative,  "  of  Christ" 
upon  earth.  But  the  papal  court  abounded  in  iniquity. 
Many  of  the  Popes  were  drunkards  and  murderers, 
and  the  bishops,  abbots,  and  monks,  were  often  no 
better.  Many  a  pious  Christian  never  in  all  his  life 
saw  an  entire  Bible.  Even  if  he  had,  he  would  not 
have  been  permitted  to  read  it,  as  the  Pope  had  for- 
bidden the  reading  of  the  Scriptures.  The  peoj)le 
were,  rather,  taught  to  honor  the  Saints  and  to  pray 
to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  tried,  by  fasting,  pilgrimages 
and  self-mortification,  to  merit  salvation. 

Other  False  Doctrines,  Concerning  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  teaches,  that  the  priest  changes  the  bread  and  wine  into  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  (Transubstantiation).  The  cup,  too,  is  given 
only  to  the  priests  and  denied  to  the  people,  although  Christ  said  "  Drink 
ye  all  of  it."  Auricular  Confession,  and  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  were  intro 
duced.     The  doctrine  of  Purgatory  was  taught.     Even  prayer  was  perverted     J 

18 


and  abused.  Strings  of  beads,  called  Rosaries,  were  employed.  They  con- 
sisted of  ten  small  beads  followed  by  a  large  one,  making  in  all  165  beads 
for  a  large  rosary  and  55  for  a  small  one.  Taking  hold  of  a  large  bead,  the 
Lord's  Prayer  is  said.  Then  passing  on  to  a  small  bead,  an  Ave  Maria  or 
"Hail  Mary!"  is  said.  And  so  on,  until  the  whole  55  or  165  beads  have 
been  prayed  over:  a  "Hail  Mary!"  for  every  small  bead  and  a  "  Lord's 
Prayer"  for  every  large  one. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  thoroughly  cor- 
rupt. The  worst  feature  of  all  was  that  all  Christians 
who  held  to  the  Word  of  God,  were  treated  as  heretics. 
Courts  of  inquisition  were  established,  to  ferret  out 
the  possessors  of  Bibles.  Many  Christians  were  tor- 
tured and  many  burnt  alive  for  the  Word's  sake.  The 
Roman  Catholics  thought  that,  thus,  they  were  doing 
God  service.  So  dark  and  sorrowful  were  the  times 
before  Luther. 


IJtthrftpfntis  nnh  i|a  95  l>Ipm* 


OPE  LEO  X.  needed  money  to  finish  St.  Peter's 
Cathedral,  at  Rome.  In  order  to  get  it,  he 
promised  an  indulgence,  or  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  to 
all  who  could  pay  him  for  it.  One  John  Tetzel,  a 
Dominican    monk,    travelled    through    Germany,   in 


1517,  in  order  to  collect  this  indulgence-money.  He 
was  a  miserable  fellow  and  was  once  condemned  to  be 
drowned  for  the  crime  of  adultery.  Whoever  gave 
him  money  received  a  piece  of  paper,  signed  by  the 
Pope,  setting  forth  that  the  individual's  sins  were 
forgiven.  Tetzel  went  from  place  to  place,  lauding 
his  wares  in  the  most  shameless  fashion.  He  would 
set  up  a  red  flag,  bearing  the  Pope's  coat-of-arms,  and 
mounting  a  pulpit  would  exhort  the  j)eople  to  buy  in- 
dulgences. He  was,  everywhere,  received  with  great 
parade.  The  school-children,  with  their  teachers,  the 
clergy,  the  officials,  the  maidens,  clad  in  white,  and  a 
great  multitude  poured  forth  from  the  towns  to  wel- 
come him,  and  the  bells  were  rung  in  his  honor.  His 
tariff  was  for  witchcraft  2  ducats,  for  polygamy  6,  for 
murder  8,  for  robbing  churches  and  for  perjury  9; 
and  he  was  accustomed  to  say : 

Soon's  in  the  chest  the  money  rings 
The  soul  from  purgatory  springs. 

Now  when  Luther,  as  loastor  in  Wittenberg,  exhorted 
his  people  to  repentance,  and  confession  of  their  sins, 
they  would  not  listen  to  him,  because  they  had  already 
paid  for  their  sins.  Luther  was  outraged  by  this 
fraud  and  denounced  the  scandal  from  the  pulpit. 
His  sermons  made  a  great  stir  in  the  community  and 
crowds  flocked  to  hear  them.     Many  a  pious  Christian 


r4\* 


had  long  been  of  the  same  opinion  but  had  not  ven-  ^ 
tured  to  express  himself. 

The  night  before  the  31st  of  October,  1517,  Frederick  the  Wise,  the  Elec- 
tor of  Saxony,  had  a  singular  dream,  at  his  castle  in  Schweinitz,  which  he 
thus  describes :  "  About  midnight  I  dreamt  that  the  Almighty  sent  to  me  a 
monk,  accompanied  by  all  the  Saints,  who  should  vouch  for  his  being  a 
messenger,  sent  of  God,  and  God  commanded  me  to  permit  the  monk  to  write 
something  on  my  Castle  Church,  and  I  should  not  regret  it.  I  gave  him 
permission  to  do  as  he  was  commanded.  Hereupon  the  monk  began  to 
write,  and  made  such  large  letters  that  I  could  read  them  at  this  distance, 
(eight  leagues  from  Wittenberg).  He  used  such  a  long  pen,  that  it  reached 
clear  to  Home  and  pricked  the  ear  of  the  lion  that  lay  at  Rome,  (Pope  Leo, 
which  means  lion,)  and  shook  the  triple  crown  upon  his  head,  so  that  it 
began  to  tremble,  and  was  in  danger  of  falling.  On  this  the  lion  set  up  such 
a  fearful  roaring,  that  everyone  ran  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  and  the  Pope 
desired  me  to  take  the  monk  in  hand,  because  he  lived  in  my  territory.  We 
tried  with  all  our  might  to  break  the  monk's  pen;  but  the  more  we  tried  it, 
the  more  unyielding  the  pen  became  and  resounded  like  iron,  so  that  the  noise 
of  it  pained  my  ears  and  wrung  my  heart.  At  last  we  gave  up  trying,  because 
we  were  afraid  the  monk  was  a  supernatural  being.  When  we  inquired 
where  he  got  this  wonderful  pen,  he  answered  that  it  was  plucked  from  a 
century-old  Bohemian  goose,  (John  Huss,  whose  name  means  goose,)  and 
the  reason  it  was  so  strong,  was  because  there  was  spirit  and  life  in  it  that  no 
one  could  take  from  it." 

Tetzel  daily  grew  more  bold.  At  last  Luther  wrote 
to  four  bishops,  and  begged  them  to  restrain  Tetzel. 
But  they  advised  Luther  not  to  interfere  in  matters 
belonging  to  the  Pope  and  the  Church.  Then  he 
wrote  his  Ninety-five  Theses  (or  sentences  against  in- 
dulgences) on  a  large  sheet,  and  on  October  31st,  1517, 
nailed  it  on  the  door  of  the  Castle  Church  at  Witten- 
berg.      This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation 


Luther  Nails  his  95  Theses  against  Indulgences  to 
the  Church  Door  (1517). 


And  this  is  the  reason  why  we  observe  the  Reforma- 
tion festival  on  the  31st  of  October  every  year. 

Luther's  theses  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention. 
In  two  weeks  they  had  run  through  all  Germany.  In 
four  weeks  they  could  be  bought  in  Jerusalem.  It 
seemed  as  though  the  angels  themselves  had  been  the 
messengers.  The  brave  monk  of  Wittenberg  was  in 
everybody's  mouth.  Naturally  the  Pope  would  not 
yield  to  such  an  insignificant  monk,  and  in  1520  ex- 
communicated him.  Upon  this  Luther  took  a  very 
bold  step,  and  cut  loose  from  the  papacy,  by  his  dar- 
ing act  of  burning  the  papal  bull  (or  letter  of  excom- 
munication) outside  the  Elster  gate  of  Wittenberg,  in 
the  presence  of  a  great  concourse  of  spectators,  on  the 
10th  of  December,  1520. 


m 


mm 


HE  Emperor  in  Luther's  day  was  Charles  V. 

|p    He  was  a  mighty  potentate.      His  dominions 

extended  to  all  parts  of  the  earth,  so  that  it  was  said 

the   sun    never   set   upon    his    empire.     Charles   V. 


summoned  a 
diet  or  con- 
vention to 
meet  at  Worms 
in  1521. 
There  Luther 
was  summoned  to 
appear  and  make 
answer.  "When  on 
his  journey  thither, 
Luther's  friends 
tried  to  dissuade  him 
from  goingto  Worms. 
But  he  replied, 
"  Though  a  fire,  high 
as  the  heavens, 
should  rage  between 
Worms  and  Witten- 
berg, yet  will  I 
thither  and  confess 
Christ."  When  he 
came  within  sight  of 
the  City  of  Worms, 
he  received  a  warn- 
ing message  from 
his  friend  Spalatin, 
not  to  enter  the  citv. 
But     Luther    wrote 


back,  "  Though  there  are  as  many  devils  in  Worms 
as  tiles  on  the  roofs,  I  would  still  go  thither."  On 
the  16th  of  April,  1521,  Luther,  riding  in  an  open 
carriage  and  clad  in  his  monk's  habit,  entered  Worms 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  streets  and  even  the 
roofs  were  thronged  with  people,  to  see  him.  More 
than  two  thousand  persons  followed  him  to  his 
lodgings. 

The  next  day  he  was  to  appear  before  the  Diet,  but 
the  streets  were  so  thronged,  that  he  had  to  be  con- 
veyed through  gardens  in  the  rear  of  the  houses  to 
the  place  of  meeting.  At  the  door  of  the  great  council- 
chamber  were  gathered  many  knights,  one  of  whom, 
the  brave  George  von  Frundsberg,  laid  his  hand  on 
Lather's  shoulder  and  said  kindly,  "  Poor  monk,  poor 
monk,  thou  venturest  upon  a  j)ath  such  as  neither  I 
nor  many  another  captain  have  dared  in  our  hardest 
battles.  But,  if  thy  cause  be  just  and  thou  art  sure 
of  it,  forward  in  God's  name,  and  be  of  good  cheer ; 
God  will  not  forsake  thee." 

Luther  now  stood  before  the  Emperor  and  the 
Diet.  Round  about  the  Emperor  Charles  sat  his 
brother  Ferdinand,  six  electors,  twenty-four  dukes, 
eight  margraves,  thirty  bishops  and  prelates,  and  a 
great  crowd  of  princes,  counts  and  lords,  bishops  and 
doctors.  The  eyes  of  more  than  five  thousand  persons, 
who  filled  the  hall  and  stood  about  the  windows,  were 


fastened  on  Luther.  Before  this  vast  assemblage  stood 
the  Augustinian  monk.  His  writings  were  laid  be 
fore  him  and  he  was  asked  whether  he  acknowledged 
them  to  be  his  and  whether  he  was  willing  to  retract  ? 
The  first  question  he  answered  affirmatively,  but,  as 
to  the  second,  he  desired  a  day's  time  for  reflection. 
On  the  following  day,  he  made  this  brave  response, 
"  Unless  I  be  convinced  by  the  testimonies  of  the 
scriptures  or  by  other  clear  and  overpowering  reasons, 
I  neither  can  nor  will  retract  anything,  for  it  is  not 
advisable  to  act  against  conscience.  Here  I  stand;  I 
cannot  do  otherwise;   God  help  me!  Amen," 

A  profound  silence  pervaded  the  assemblage  until 
Luther  was  led  away.  This  courageous  speech  won 
him  many  friends.  On  the  26th  of  April  he  left 
Worms.  The  emperor  gave  him  a  safe  conduct  back 
to  Wittenberg,  but  the  ban  of  the  empire  was  pro- 
nounced against  him. 


« 


;«i|tr  h!  1| 


J     I  HEN  Luther  was  passing  through  the  Thur- 
^r   ingian  forest  on  his  return  from  Worms,  he 

was   seized    by   a 

band   of  knights. 

They  dragged  him 

out  of  his  carriage, 

threw  a  cloak  over 

his  shoulders,  and 

rode  off  with  him. 

The  world  thought 

his    enemies    had 

killed    him.     But 

his     fast     friend, 

Frederick     the 

Wise,    had    taken 

this  plan  to   pre- 
serve Luther  from 

harm.  The  knights 

of     the     Elector 

merely  conducted 

him  to  the  Wartburg  Castle. 


Here  Luther  lived  the 


life  of  a  knight,  and  was  known  as  Junker  George 
This   was    done   because   his   elector   was  only  able 
secretly  to  afford  him  protection. 

Whilst  there  Luther  wrote  a  number  of  books. 
On  the  appearance  of  the  first  work,  both  friends  and 
enemies  perceived  that  Luther  was  still  alive,  but 
where  concealed,  they  could  not  find  out.  The  greatest 
work  begun  here  was  the  translation  of  the  Bible  into 
German.  He  translated  the  New  Testament  first  and 
published  it  in  1522.  With  the  aid  of  his  friend, 
PMlip  Melancthon,  he  proceeded  to  translate  the  Old 
Testament  and  finished  it  in  1534.  This  admirable 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  was  the  best  weapon  for 
carrying  on  the  conquests  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  aston- 
ishing how  much  Luther  wrote  in  the  short  space  of 
twenty-five  years.  It  has  been  calculated  that  a  tran- 
scriber, writing  rapidly  for  ten  hours  daily,  would 
spend  a  whole  lifetime  in  transcribing  all  of  Luther's 
writings.  And  yet  the  additional  work  he  performed 
would  of  itself  be  enough  to  tax  the  powers  of  an  ordi- 
nary man. 

One  book,  bearing  Luther's  name,  all  the  children 
are  familiar  with.  It  is  The  Catechism.  Luther's 
Small  Catechism  was  published  in  1529.  The  Elec- 
tor of  Saxony  had  commissioned  him  to  visit  the 
churches  and  schools.  He  found  the  greatest  igno- 
rance in  divine   things    among  the  young  and  old, 

29 


and  wrote  this  Small  Catechism  for  their  benefit. 
For  the  clergy  and  teachers  he  wrote  the  Large 
Catechism.  His  Small  Catechism  is  the  best  school 
book,  a  precious  treasure  and  to  this  day  is  unsur- 
passed. Joachim,  Duke  of  Auhalt,  wrote  in  his  copy 
of  the  Catechism,  "  Next  to  the  Bible  I  prize  this 
book."  Frederick  II.,  Duke  of  Silesia,  requested  to 
be  buried  with  this  book  in  his  hand.  Already  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  Catechism  was  translated  into 
thirteen  languages  and  since  then  into  many  more. 
We  are  indebted  to  Luther,  also,  for  a  Hymn  Book. 
The  first  collection  of  German  hymns  was  published 
by  Luther  in  1524,  and  contained  eight  hymns.  New 
ones  were  added  from  year  to  year,  so  that  when 
Luther  died,  the  number  had  increased  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  of  which  Luther  himself  wrote  thirty- 
six.  He  also  composed  admirable  melodies,  as  the 
one  to  the  powerful  hymn,  "  A  mighty  fortress  is  our 
God."  The  hymns  and  tunes  were  quickly  learned 
by  the  people,  and  had  a  powerful  influence  in 
spreading  the  true  doctrine. 


n  JKti  nf  Jtttjsfatrj* 


HE  gospel  gained  entrance  into  many  lands. 
The  Roman  Catholic  princes  were  desirous  of 
suppressing  it.  With  this  end  in  view  a  diet  was  held 
at  Speyer  in  1529.  The  Evangelical  party  protested 
against  religious  oppression  and  hence  arose  the  name 
Protestant. 

The  Emperor,  Charles  V.,  summoned  a  new  Diet 
to  meet  at  Augsburg  in  1530.  It  was  the  intention  at 
this  diet  to  uproot  and  destroy  the  Evangelical  doc- 
trine. But  the  Lutherans  determined  to  resist  this. 
Luther  wrote  out  the  most  important  articles  of  faith. 
With  these  in  hand,  Melancthon  composed  the  docu- 
ment universally  known  as  the  Augsburg  Confession, 
Luther  was  not  permitted  to  go  to  Augsburg  as  he  was 
still  under  the  ban  of  the  empire.  He  tarried  at 
Coburg.  On  the  25th  of  June,  the  Confession  was 
read  before  the  Emperor,  the  Evangelical  Princes 
standing  during  its  reading  to  show  that  they  united 
in  it.  The  Emperor  asked  it  to  be  read  in  Latin,  but 
the  elector  John  insisted  that,  being  on  German  soil, 
it  should  be  read  in  German.  Dr.  Baier  then  read 
the  twenty-eight  articles  of  the  Confession  in  a  clear, 


loud  voice.  The  reading  took  two  hours,  and  was 
listened  to  by  several  thousand  persons.  The  Emperor 
paid  the  strictest  attention.  Seven  princes  and  two 
Free  Cities  signed  the  Confession,  but  hundreds  of 


COBURG   AND   THE   CASTLE. 

thousands  gave  their  glad  assent  to  the  doctrine  con- 
fessed in  it. 

Philip  Melancthon  was  a  true  friend  of  Luther.  He  was  born  in  1497  at 
Brettin,  in  Baden,  and  in  his  twenty-first  year  (1518)  became  Professor  at 
Wittenberg.  His  fame  spread  throughout  all  Europe.  He  survived  Luther 
and  died  April  19th,  1560. 

P%*  — -  32  — 


ttflpr 't  Jumaslit  Jttk 


N  the  year  1525  Luther  was  married  to  Cath- 
arine von  Bora,  with  whom  he  lived  a  very 
happy   life.     His  liberality  exceeded   that  of  many 


LUTHER   AND   WIFE. 

a  wealthy  man.     As  a  father  Luther  was  strict.     On 
one  occasion,  he  could  not  suffer  his  son  Hans,  for 


some  offence,  to  appear  before  him  for  three  days, 
saying,  "  I  would  sooner  have  a  dead  son  than  a  dis- 
obedient one.''  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  very  kind 
and  affectionate,  so  that  his  children  not  only  feared 
him,  but  most  sincerely  loved  him  and  confided  in 
him.  Luther  was  the  father  of  six  children,  who  all 
did  credit  to  their  training.  John,  the  oldest,  became 
a  lawyer,  and  died  in  Koenigsburg  in  1575 ;  Elizabeth 
and  Magdalena  died  young ;  Martin  studied  theology, 
but  died  before  he  had  finished  his  studies ;  Paul 
studied  medicine  and  became  physician  to  the  Elector 
of  Saxony ;  Margaretha  was  married  to  a  Prussian 
nobleman. 

Many  interesting  stories  could  be  told  of  Luther's 
happy  wedded  life.  We  could  tell  how  he  trained 
his  son  Hans,  and  how  he  gathered  his  family — Katie, 
his  wife,  and  the  six  children — about  the  lighted 
Christmas-tree,  and  sang  with  them  the  precious 
Christinas  hymns,  as  is  shown  in  the  illustration. 
Much  might  be  said  too  of  his  friends,  Philip  Melanch- 
thon,  Dr.  John  Bugenhagen,  Justus  Jonas,  George 
Spalatin,  Prof.  Creuziger,  John  Mathesius,  John 
Walther  the  musician,  and  Lucas  Cranach  the  painter. 
And  many  instances  of  Luther's  kindness  to  the  poor 
might  be  given,  but  we  will  content  ourselves  with 
these. 


35 


He  once  gave  a  poor  beggar  his  last  dollar,  which  bore  the  image  of 
Prince  Joachim,  saying  as  he  did  so,  "  Joachim,  come  forth,  the  Lord  is  here." 
On  another  occasion,  a  man  came  to  his  study,  asking  aid.  Luther  had 
no  money  of  his  own,  but  he  bethought  him  of  some  that  had  been  given  his 
youngest  child  by  its  sponsors,  and  gave  this  to  the  poor  man.  A  poor 
student  called  on  him,  to  ask  for  money  to  pay  his  way  home.  Luther 
searched  and  found  a  beautiful  silver  cup  that  had  been  presented  to  him  by 
the  Elector.  Hastily  crushing  it  between  his  hands,  he  said,  "  Here,  take 
it  to  the  goldsmith  and  whatever  he  gives  you  for  it,  keep." 

Luther  had  much  sorrow  in  his  life.  Reference 
will  only  be  made  to  the  death  of  his  daughter  Mag- 
dalena.  Lena  was  a  pious  child  and  her  father's 
favorite.  When  she  lay  ill,  he  asked  her,  "  My  dear 
little  daughter,  would  you  like  to  remain  with  your 
father  ?  "  She  answered,  "  Yes,  dear  father,  as  God 
wills."  When  she  was  dying,  he  fell  upon  his  knees 
by  her  bedside  and  with  bitter  tears  prayed  God  to 
send  her  deliverance,  and  soon  she  fell  asleep  in  his 
arms. 

This  must  suffice.  We  must  bring  this  book  to  a 
close  and  shall  therefore  tell  you  next  of  the  happy 
death  of  the  great  Reformer. 


36 


UTHER  had  many  conflicts  with  false  teachers, 
but,  amidst  them  all,  he  maintained  a  devout 
and  cheerful  spirit.  Though  his  great  labors  were 
interrupted  by  a  severe  illness,  which  caused  him 
much  suffering,  his  ardor  never  failed.  When,  during 
the  winter  of  1546,  he  was  invited  by  the  two  Counts 
of  Mansfeld  to  come  to  Mansfeld  to  settle  a  dispute  be- 
tween them,  he  gladly  responded. 

Towards  the  close  of  January,  he  went  to  Mansfeld, 
although  he  was  sick  at  the  time.  His  friend,  Dr. 
Jonas,  accompanied  him  from  Halle.  He  settled  the 
dispute  and  was  preparing  to  return,  when  he  suddenly 
took  severely  ill  at  Eisleben.  His  friends  gave  him 
the  best  possible  attention.  His  two  sons,  Martin  and 
Paul,  with  Dr.  Jonas,  were  constantly  with  him. 
Luther  felt  his  end  approaching.  He  prayed  fer- 
vently and  exclaimed  three  times  in  succession : 
"  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit.  Thou 
hast  redeemed  me,  O  Lord,  thou  God  of  truth."  On 
the   18th    of   February,   about   three  o'clock   in   the 

37 


morning,  Dr.  Jonas  bent  over  him  and  asked  him, 
"  Reverend  father,  do  you  die  firmly  adhering  to  the 
doctrine  that  you  preached  ?  "  The  dying  man  an- 
swered loudly  and  distinctly,  "  Yes."  This  was  Lu- 
ther's last  word.  And  so  he  died  February  18th,  1546, 
in  Eisleben,  where  he  was  born  and  baptized.  All 
Lutheran  Christendom  lamented  him.  Crowds  of 
people  streamed  into  Eisleben  where  Dr.  Jonas  deliv- 
ered an  affecting  funeral  sermon.  The  body  was  then 
removed  to  Wittenberg.  In  all  the  villages  through 
which  the  cortege  passed,  the  bells  were  tolled  and 
the  people  came  together  to  do  him  honor.  On  the 
22d  of  February,  the  body  was  deposited  before  the 
altar  in  the  Castle  Church  at  Wittenberg,  where  his 
grave  is  yet  to  be  seen.  His  friend  Philip  Melanchthon 
delivered  the  funeral  oration.  What  this  man  of  God 
sowed,  has  sprung  up  and  brought  forth  a  million  fold 
to  the  honor  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


38 


ttflpfr  flp  i^Hk^n  *t  %m\&. 


EE  how  merrily  the  children  are  playing  with 
the  angels.  They  must  have  fine  times  skip- 
ping and  dancing  about,  when  the  angels  vie  with  the 
birds  in  making  sweet  music.  And  the  fruit  on  the 
trees  must  certainly  be  very  good.  See  there  is  little 
Hans  on  his  hobby-horse,  holding  up  a  golden  apple 
that  he  has  plucked,  for  the  rest  to  admire.  Here  in 
the  middle  of  the  picture  an  angel  is  making  a  wreath 
of  the  loveliest  flowers  for  the  little  girls.  But  that 
little  angel  there  in  the  corner  seems  to  be  looking 
whether  there  are  not  more  children  who  would  like 
to  come  into  the  garden  and  play.  Does  any  one 
know  who  that  is  standing  beside  the  gardener  at 
the  gate  watching  the  children  with  so  much  delight  ? 
It  looks  exactly  like  Dr.  Martin  Luther.  Yes,  it  is 
he.  He  is  so  delighted  with  the  garden  that  he  would 
like  all  children  to  get  there,  and  so  he  wrote  a  letter 
which  you  see  hanging  at  one  side  of  the  picture,  and 
what  he  describes  in  this  letter  the  artist  has  portrayed 
for  you  in  the  picture,  so  that  you  can  get  a  better 
idea  of  it. 


no 


The  letter  was  written  by  Luther  to  his  son  Hans, 
when  Luther  was  at  Coburg  Castle.  In  the  year 
1530  there  was  a  Diet  in  session  at  Augsburg,  and  the 
princes  and  cities  made  a  good  confession  of  their  faith 
before  the  Emperor.  Luther  had  to  remain  away 
from  Augsburg  because  the  Emperor  had  pronounced 
the  ban  against  him.  But  he  wished  to  be  as  near  as 
possible.  He,  therefore,  left  his  family  in  Wittenberg 
and  went  as  far  as  Coburg.  There  he  offered  prayer 
to  God  for  the  confessors,  and  from  this  place,  sent 
letters  to  Augsburg,  full  of  advice  and  comfort. 

But  he  did  not  forget  to  write  often  to  his  family 
at  Wittenberg.  One  day  there  came  a  letter,  written  by 
father  Luther  to  his  little  boy  Hans.  Here  is  the  letter : 
Grace  and  peace  in  Christ,  my  dear  little  son. 

I  am  very  glad  to  know  that  you  learn  your  lessons 
well,  and  love  to  say  your  prayers.  Keep  on  doing 
so,  my  little  boy,  and  when  I  come  home,  I  will  bring 
you  something  pretty  from  the  fair.  I  know  a  beau- 
tiful garden,  where  there  are  a  great  many  children 
in  fine  little  coats,  and  they  go  under  the  trees  and 
gather  beautiful  apples  and  pears,  cherries  and  plums ; 
they  sing  and  run  about,  and  are  as  happy  as  they 
can  be.  Sometimes  they  ride  about  on  nice  ponies, 
with  golden  bridles  and  silver  saddles.  I  asked  the 
man  whose  garden  it  is,  what  little  children  are  these  ? 
And  he  told  me,  they  are  little  children  who  love  to 


pray  and  learn,  and  are  good.  Then  I  said :  My 
dear  sir,  I  have  a  little  boy  at  home  ;  his  name  is  little 
Hans  Luther ;  would  you  let  him  come  into  the  gar- 
den also,  to  eat  some  of  these  nice  apples  and  pears, 
and  ride  on  these  fine  little  ponies,  and  play  with  these 
children  ?  The  man  said :  If  he  loves  to  say  his 
prayers,  and  learn  his  lessons,  and  is  a  good  boy,  he 
may  come.  And  Philip  and  Jocelin  may  come  too ; 
and  when  they  are  all  together,  they  can  play  upon 
the  fife  and  drum  and  lute  and  all  kinds  of  instruments, 
and  skip  about  and  shoot  with  little  cross-bows.  He 
then  showed  me  a  beautiful  mossy  place  in  the  middle 
of  the  garden,  for  them  to  skip  about  in,  with  a  great 
many  golden  fifes,  and  drums,  and  silver  cross-bows. 
The  children  had  not  yet  had  their  dinner,  and  I 
could  not  wait  to  see  them  play,  but  I  said  to  the  man  : 
My  dear  sir,  I  will  go  away  and  write  all  about  it  to 
my  little  son,  John,  and  tell  him  to  be  fond  of  saying 
his  prayers,  and  learn  well,  and  be  good,  so  that  he 
may  come  into  this  garden ;  but  he  has  a  cousin 
Lehne,  whom  he  must  bring  along  with  him.  The 
man  said,  very  well,  go  write  to  him.  Now,  my  dear 
little  son,  love  yonr  lessons,  and  your  prayers,  and 
tell  Philip  and  Jocelin  to  do  so  too,  that  you  may  all 
come  to  the  garden.  May  God  bless  you.  Give 
cousin  Lehne  my  love,  and  kiss  her  for  me. 

Martix  Luther. 


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